Additionally, the upkeep of the cannons was the Master Gunner's responsibility. A Doctor was essential onboard a pirate ship, subject to countless battles during its life at sea. In addition to injuries sustained from cannon, sword, pistol, or any other weapons a pirate faced wasn't the only source of work for the doctor. A pirate ship could have been infested with rats, lice, and cockroaches, and the food was stored in absolutely unsanitary conditions were an inexhaustible disease source.
But having a professional doctor in the crew was a luxury, and often the "doctor" on board was the cook or Carpenter; unfortunately, most of the time, these men knew little or nothing about medical science.
A mate is a second officer and apprentice to the senior officer ranks, such as the Sailing Master, Boatswain, Master Gunner, etc. These additional officers could have been chosen by the senior officer or elected by the pirate council. Often there could have been multiple mates, first mate, second mate, and so on. Unlike a Royal Navy ship of the time, where the Captain also has a mate on a pirate ship, that role tended to fall to the Quartermaster.
The Carpenter was responsible for the ship's maintenance and repair to keep it always afloat, "even during battle. As the damage control team leader, the Carpenter would rush to any boat area where a leak was opened. His task was to get the ship back on track and bring it ashore to be repaired in the best possible way and in the shortest possible time. More often than not, sailing masters are kidnapped from merchant or naval ships. There were very few pirates who knew how or were skilled enough to read maps or chart their course.
So this position is often forced upon hostages. Sometimes you would be forced to use your handiness in amputating the legs or arms of other pirate crews who were injured in battle. Cabin boys are the ones who attend to the needs of all the pirates on the ship. Cabin boys were usually hostages, while others were stowaways or were only looking for adventure. This is undeniably one of the worst jobs on the ship.
From the word powder lies the responsibility of a powder monkey. Swabbies are the ones in charge of mopping the decks every single day. Ships are big, and mopping them can drain the life out of you. This is also a risky job, especially when the waves are big and the weather is harsh. They can either fall or be thrown overboard. Pirate life can sometimes be dull, sailing for days, seeing nothing but endless stretches of the sea.
If you and your friends want to experience something close to that, there are pirate cruises in St. Pete Beach, FL , that you can try. Sunshine Scenic Tours offers one of the best pirate cruises in the area. There was rarely a dispute about how the loot was divided, however.
The quartermaster was also the only man who could dole out punishment. Even then, any many instances the crew would take a vote first. The captain could order punishment but only the quartermaster could administer it, which made it the will of at least two before any punishment was given.
The quartermaster also settled individual quarrels and if need be, acted as a witness to any duels, to insure that duels were fair and just. Finally, on some ships, except when in battle the quartermaster might actually hold a position above the captain, especially in matters of punishment and rations. Despite all the activitiy of the quartermaster, Pirate captains would still pick their other officers such as first and second mate, often creating a complex chain of command on a pirate ship.
Of course this was not always the case. In many cases, a pirate captain was the ultimate law and there was no quatermaster or the quartermaster and captain worked as if captain and firstmate. Much of the discussion of quatermasters is found in the General History of Pirates and it would be foolish to think all pirate crews had a division of power as it described in that book. First Mate On most ships, the First Mate is the officer who ranks just below the Captain of the ship and takes over in the event that the Captain can no longer perform his duties.
Unfortunately this is not the case on a pirate ship. The first mate on a pirate ship is the man the pirate picks as his second in command. In the even the pirate is killed the job falls to the quartermaster. Ships also had second, third, even forth mates creating a chain of command.
The Bos'n was one of them. Originally, on board a sailing ship such as a man-of-war or a galleon, the boatswain was in charge of a ship's anchors, cordage, colors, deck crew and the ship's boats, and would also be in charge of the rigging while the ship was in dock. The bos'n is often a petty officer. On a sailing ship he might be the thyroid or forth mate. On a smaller ship the quartermaster would handle the jobs of the bos'n.
Cabin Boy The cabin boy is typically a young boy of privileged birth who is sent to sea to learn the maritime trade. Typically the cabin boy waits upon the officers of the ship. In some instances he may act as the Captain's servant. The cabin boy will run messages and errands for the officers, prepare their uniforms, perhaps even fetches their dinner. Because he is an apprentice of sorts, he is also expected to learn all aspects of the maritime trade.
Since wooden barrels were the best way to store food, water, and other necessities of life at sea, they were considered extremely important, so every ship needed a cooper—a man skilled in making and maintaining barrels.
If your last name is Cooper , somewhere far back in your family tree, there was probably a barrel maker. Existing storage barrels had to be regularly inspected to ensure they were sound.
Empty barrels were dismantled to make space in limited cargo areas. The cooper would reassemble them as needed should the ship stop to take on food, water or other stores.
He was tasked with fixing holes after combat, making repairs after a storm, keeping the masts and yardarms sound and functional, and knowing when the ship needed to be beached for maintenance or repairs.
As pirates usually could not use official dry docks in ports, ship's carpenters had to make do with what was at hand. They would often have to make repairs on a deserted island or stretch of beach, using only what they could scavenge or cannibalize from other parts of the ship.
Most pirate ships preferred to have a doctor aboard when one was available. Trained doctors were hard to find, and when ships had to go without one, often times a veteran sailor would serve in their stead. Pirates frequently fought—with their victims and with one another—and serious injuries were common. Pirates also suffered from a variety of other ailments, including venereal diseases, such as syphilis and tropical illnesses like malaria.
They were also vulnerable to scurvy, an illness caused by a Vitamin C deficiency that most often occurred when a ship was too long at sea and ran out of fresh fruit. Medicines were worth their weight in gold. In fact, when Blackbeard blockaded the port of Charleston, the only thing he asked for was a large chest of medicines. Firing a cannon was an extremely complicated and dangerous procedure when pirates sailed the seas. Everything had to be just so—the placement of the shot, the correct amount of powder, the fuse, and the working parts of the cannon itself—or the results could be disastrous.
On top of that, you had to aim the thing: in the late 17th century weights for 12 pound cannons named for the weight of the balls they shot ranged from 3, to 3, pounds.
A skilled gunner was a very valuable part of any pirate crew. They were usually trained by the Royal Navy and had worked their way up from being powder-monkeys—the young boys who ran back and forth carrying gunpowder to the cannons during battles. Master Gunners were in charge of all of the cannons, the gunpowder, the shot, and everything else that had to do with keeping the cannons in working order. Musicians were popular onboard pirate ships because piracy was a tedious life.
0コメント